Graeme and I are meeting this morning to discuss the project. Firstly, we are going to begin the process of shipping out copies to everyone who has pre-purchased copies from the Comicoz web-site over the past twelve months. It is only fair that those who have pre-paid for copies receive them first. (The Kickstarter participants will have copies posted after the campaign concludes on 15 June.)
Australian comic book retailers, who may have noticed the solicitation in the latest issue of Diamond Distributor's Previews (on page 305!), may be somewhat reluctant to order an Australian book from America only to pay for it to be shipped out again to Australia! So to address this issue, yesterday I sent a letter to each and every Australian comic shop that I was able to identify -- all 35 of them! -- and suggested that they buy discounted copies from Comicoz directly. I know most of their product is usually American comics, but I really do hope most retailers support this local publishing venture....
American politics is also raising its ugly head too. Are USA imports from Australia going to be hit with the same 25% tariff that the Chinese have to endure? This might make the book uneconomically viable to ship there. On the other side of the spectrum, the fact that the Australian Dollar is presently dropping might prove to be a small windfall.
A local Book Distributor has also expressed interest in carrying some of Comicoz' books (Bold Ben Hall and The Men Behind Superman) and I am hoping that that interest extends further to include From 'Sunbeams' to Sunset too. From a marketing perspective, a couple of journalists from Brisbane's Sunday Mail and the Daily Mirror in Sydney have expressed an interest too. As you can see, it's not just a matter of deciding to publish a book these days -- there are so many factors to take into consideration!